Miller Magazine Issue 108 / December 2018

30 MILLER / DECEMBER 2018 NEWS Wheat consumption per person reaches 214 kilograms annually Abdülkadir Külahçıoğlu, the Chairman of Pasta In- dustrialists Association of Turkey, shared his opinion about Turkey’s position within the pasta market. Saying that the motherland of wheat production is Mesopota- mia, he said 49 percent of the agricultural land of Tur- key is the wheat planting area. Also, he said the wheat consumption per person reached 214 kilograms annu- ally. He said that climate change has an importance for the sector, adding that the amount of wheat can decline in the coming ten years. Stressing on the importance of the planned production, he noted that it is highly important farmers are trained on this issue through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s supports. . Külahçıoğlu said Turkey is in good condition on the sector of flour, pasta, and bulgur that are produced from wheat. “Turkey is in the top position of flour and bulgur production and their exports. In the pasta production, Turkey is at the third position in the world and is the second position because of the protected market in the export. If we disregard the protected market, in fact, Turkey sits in the first position. On the production of durum wheat, Turkey is at the fourth position,” he said. The president noted that many countries produce pasta to meet their needs, adding that few countries including Turkey export pasta while meeting its local demand. He said Turkey export pasta to 154 countries. The quality of durum wheat – the raw material of pasta - is high, according to him. Külahçıoğlu said if they add more durum wheat in the pasta production, Turkey can have the number one place in the pasta export. Külahçıoğlu said the European Union placed 20 thou- sand tons of quotas for export, which prevents Turkey from utilizing this market more. When the sales to the European Union are excluded, Turkey is at the number one position in the world. 68 PERCENT OF EXPORT IS TO AFRICA The association’s president said particularly African countries consume more pasta, adding that sixty-eight percent of the pasta export of Turkey goes to the Af- rican continent. He maintained that the export web of Turkey’s pasta sector reaches to Japan, Iraq, and Ve- nezuela apart from Africa, saying that producers show great efforts to enlarge the market and to increase the amount of the sale. Adding that Turkey’s pasta sector is active with 24 producers, he said that the sector increa- ses its export year-by-year substantially. “In 2016, the pasta export was 831 thousand tons. In 2017, it reac- hed 1.055 million tons. We want to reach 1.200 million tons in 2018. Turkey climbed to the eighth place in the pasta consumption. Annually, the pasta consumption per person is eight kilograms,” he said. Abülkadir Külahçıoğlu, the Chairman of Pas- ta Industrialists Association of Turkey, said the consumption of baked goods has increa- sed in Turkey, adding that, “The wheat pro- duction can decline in the coming ten years because of the climate change. Measures have to be taken about this.” Abdülkadir Külahçıoğlu Chairman of Pasta Industrialists Association of Turkey